Set To Make Sri Lankan Businesses More Popular Amongst Chinese Tourists

Sampath Bank announced that its local merchant partners will now be able to accept UnionPay credit and debit cards for Point of Sale (POS) payments. This move is set to give a significant boost to the Bank’s local merchant partners who now be able to welcome UnionPay cardholders. UnionPay is now one of the largest payment card networks in the world. It will also bring in greater convenience to consumers, especially the growing number of Chinese tourists visiting the island.

UnionPay cardholders already enjoy a host of benefits and privileges from Sampath Bank including the ability to withdraw money from over 350 ATMs on the island. Now, they can pay for direct purchases using their UnionPay credit and debit cards. Cardholders can shop in peace as the EMV enabled UnionPay cards (i.e. cards with an EMV chip embedded in them) offer greater protection against counterfeit and other types of fraud.

This facility has initially been made available at over 300 leading merchants around the island across key tourism related businesses such as gems and jewellery, tea, spices, dining and lodging and duty free shopping. These merchants will be able to accept UnionPay credit and debit cards in Sri Lankan Rupees and different foreign currencies on their Sampath Bank card terminals. Sampath Bank is striving to expand this to its base of over 5,000 terminals.

Commenting on this, Mr. Tharaka Ranwala, Senior Deputy General Manager – Consumer Banking, Sampath Bank PLC said, “Given the steady growth in the number of tourists visiting the country from China, we were looking for ways in which we could help our merchant partners grow their business with them. Enabling UnionPay credit and debit card acceptance at Point of Sale (POS) for our merchant partners in partnership with UnionPay International is one of the steps we have taken to facilitate this. We look forward to seeing tourists and local merchants avail the benefits of this move.”

Mr. Shuan Ghaidan, Product Director of UnionPay International said, “With UnionPay as the leading payment method among Chinese tourists, the demand for local payment and cash withdrawal with our cards continues to increase. Earlier on, we already joined hands to enable POS business in Sri Lanka; today the further deepened partnership with Sampath Bank on POS acceptance will definitely lead to a win-win situation. We will continue to strive to provide our card users seamless payment services around the globe and as the next step, we look forward to further exploring other payment opportunities with Sampath Bank in Sri Lanka.”

UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on international business. In partnership with more than 1,700 institutions worldwide, UnionPay International has extended its card acceptance to 162 countries and regions globally with issuance in over 42 countries and regions, covering 45 million merchants and 2.55 million ATMs. UnionPay serves the world’s largest cardholder base.

Established in 1987, Sampath Bank has become a state-of-the-art financial institution that continues to be a market leader today thanks to its constant innovation and customer focused approach to business. Its unique tailor-made solutions, superior services and convenience of access have allowed Sampath Bank to further differentiate itself from the competition and stand out as the bank of choice for many in Sri Lanka.

Image Caption - From Left - Mr. Dimantha Abeydeera, Executive - Card Centre Marketing, Sampath Bank ; Mr. Buddhika Amunugama, Senior Executive - Card Centre Marketing, Sampath Bank; Mr. Darshin Pathinayake, Senior Manager E-Remittance, KPO, Bank Notes Operations & Card Centre Marketing, Sampath Bank; Mr. Chaminda Jayasinghe, Senior Manager - Card Centre Operations, Sampath Bank; Mr. Kusal De Silva, Head of Card Centre, E Remittance & Bank Notes Operations, Sampath Bank; Mr. Tharaka Ranwala, Senior Deputy General Manager (DGM) - Consumer Banking, Sampath Bank; Mr. Shuan Ghaidan, Director - Products, UnionPay International; Mr. Liu Heng, General Manager, UnionPay International - Hong Kong Branch Office; Mr. Derek Chang, Senior Head of South Asia, UnionPay International; Mr. Crispin Wijesekera, Country Manager, UnionPay International – Sri Lanka and Mr. Arouf Samoon, Senior Marketing Manager, UnionPay International.